Deal With The Devil
by coffeeaddict00
Summary: She couldn’t believe she had actually come here; she seriously had sunk to new lows. Chuck & Vanessa. Set after 2x16.
1. Chapter 1

"Are you sure you're ok?" It was the tenth time that morning that Dan's eyes had found hers and given her a puppy dog look as if she would burst into tears at any moment. He had been hanging around the gallery all day bringing her coffee and helping her place new pieces along the walls and his clinginess was really starting to drive her crazy.

"Yes Dan, for the millionth time…I'm _fine._ You really don't have to baby-sit me. So Nate and I broke up; I'm really ok. It was for the best.  
" Though her voice sounded sure Dan didn't look convinced. She should have known that she wouldn't be able to fool him.

"Ok…" Instead of pushing it he simple rolled his eyes and gave her arm a squeeze before reaching for his jacket that was slung over one of the chairs in the café.

"I really can stick around if you need help.  
" Pushing against his arm and picking up his backpack to give him she gave Dan her best smile and shook her head. "Seriously go; have a good day. I'll see you later.

Reaching for the cold cup of coffee that was sitting along the bar she watched as Dan threw her one final glance before disappearing behind the door and out into the city. Now that he was gone she finally felt as if she could breathe. She normally didn't mind the presence of her best friend but at the moment she was finding it hard to fake being happy. The truth was she was taking her breakup with Nate harder than she had let on. She just didn't understand what had happened. One minute he's accusing her of flirting with someone else and the next moment she reads on Gossip Girl that he's spending time with his beautiful ex girlfriend Blair. Reaching for the papers she had been about to file she headed back into the office trying to forget about her blue eyed ex.

Just as she was pushing the filing cabinet door shut her phone began to ring. She reached for it and frowned when she saw that it was an unknown number. Usually she screened calls but today she was expecting a certain phone call.

"Hello?" She answered with her best professional voice and reached to empty the coffee pot into the sink. "Yes this is Vanessa.  
" As the dark liquid washed down the drain she felt her body tense and she leaned against the sink in frustration. "We didn't get the landmark status.  
" It wasn't a question; she knew the answer before it even slipped through his lips. "No it's ok. You tried.  
"

What was she going to do now? It would be out on the market by the end of the week and then it would go to the highest bidder. With a sigh Vanessa nodded as she was once again apologized to. She was out of options.

"Wait…there is one more thing I could try. Just give me a day.  
" Of course, why hadn't she thought of it before? Chuck Bass had just inherited part of his father's company; it had been all over the news. He was now the richest kid in New York.

Of course as soon as she had thought about it she regretted it. After her last encounter with the young millionaire she couldn't believe she was actually considering asking him for his help again. Maybe she was going crazy. But before she could stop herself she was grabbing a cab and heading over the bridge and into Manhattan.

-o-o-

She couldn't believe she had actually come here; she seriously had sunk to new lows. It wasn't as if she had any other choice though. Maybe this would work, it had to. She was running out of options. Despite how things were with his family Vanessa began to hope that he would surprise her once more. Deep down she knew there was something deeper to the young millionaire. She had caught a small glimpse of it earlier that year but she hadn't dared to delve further. Now she wasn't even sure if he would even want to see her.

Stepping through the gates of Bass Inc. was quite intimidating she wasn't going to lie. Her large blue eyes glanced around in awe at the glass doors and plush furniture. She headed upstairs after being given directions to Mr.   
Bass's office, nervously playing with her hands. She still couldn't believe that he now held a portion of this company. His office did not disappoint and as she walked along the hallway she let out a gasp; it was one of the nicest office's she had ever seen. Outside what she could only assume to be his office door sat another desk with a dark haired girl behind it. Of course Chuck Bass would choose a gorgeous woman as his secretary. Vanessa secretly wondered if the girl could even type.

"Hi; I'm here to see Ch- Mr. Bass.  
" She threw a smile at the young girl who didn't smile back and Vanessa felt her eyes surveying her appearance.

"Do you have an appointment?" Nodding her head slowly she bit her lip and clutched her purse tightly. "No…could you just tell him that Vanessa Abrams is here?"

Still not smiling, his secretary asked her to take a seat before offering her an assortment of beverages. She kindly declined but sunk into one of the seats along the wall. The deep leather was surprisingly comfortable and Vanessa leaned back against the wall trying to calm her nerves. She was about to go head to head with the devil himself she was going to need to relax. Giving her another look the woman grabbed the phone, calling into her new boss.  
"Mr.  
Bass…a Miss _Abrams_ is here to see you.  
"

-o-o-

"So you couldn't stay away could you?" The sarcasm dripped from his voice and Vanessa rolled her eyes expecting as much from him. Holding a glass of scotch in his hand Chuck moved around to sit in his chair and indicated that she should take a seat across from him. Slipping into the seat she gave him a small smile and bit her lip nervously.

"In all seriousness. What do you need?" His eyes narrowed and he eyed her suspiciously. Feeling self-conscious she brushed her soft brown curls away from her face and cleared her throat.

"We lost the landmark status. They're going to be putting it up on the market…" Before she could say any more Chuck interrupted her.  
"You want me to buy it…like I promised.  
"

A silence fell over them as Chuck turned away from her slightly. He placed his glass back up to his lips and he seemed to be frowning as if he were deep in thought. Vanessa sighed and played with her hands absently wondering once more why she had come here. She should've known it had all been apart of a game.

"I'll do it.  
" Her face shot up in shock and she could tell that he was amused by her surprise.

"You will?" She let out a dry laugh and shook her head in amazement. She certainly hadn't expected that. She had at least imagined that she'd have to do some convincing but he had agreed without an argument. "Yes; I'll have the paperwork drawn today."

Standing up from his desk he reached out a hand to her and she reached out to shake it slowly. Giving him a smile she stood up and moved to pull her purse over her shoulder.

"Drinks tonight at The Palace. Seven. I'll send the car.  
" He didn't smile and his tone was in no way asking permission. He was telling her of their plans for the evening. She nodded slowly knowing that despite everything she didn't quite dread having to spend time with him. It was a business deal after all; they might as well make it official.

Leading her out the door she watched as Chuck followed her out and Vanessa's stomach tightened at the sight of a very annoyed Blair Waldorf waiting outside his door. Her eyes connected with Blair's curious brown orbs and the dark haired beauty raised her eyebrows as her gaze settled on Vanessa.. Vanessa threw her a smile and raised her eyebrows before turning back to Chuck.

"See you tonight.  
" Before another word was spoken she was walking down the hall towards the elevators trying not to smile at the look on Blair's face.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks so much for the review guys. This is my first story so I hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I'm enjoying writing it. Keep the reviews coming because they'll help keep me motivated. More motivation means quicker updates =]**

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As Vanessa's form disappeared around the corner Blair finally turned her glare to settle on Chuck who didn't seemed to be phased by the encounter. Instead he simply stared at her as if she were anyone else. His eyebrows raised waiting for her to speak but the words she wanted to say were stuck in her throat.

"What are you doing here Blair?" His tone was anything but inviting and he pushed his hands into his pockets impatiently waiting for her response. His eyebrows narrowed over his dark orbs and Blair felt her stomach tighten. She suddenly couldn't remember why she was here. Hadn't it been just the other week where she was throwing flowers at him through her elevator? Had she really expected a warm welcome from him?

"I uh… thought maybe we could grab lunch." She gave him her brightest Waldorf smile and stepped a few steps closer to him. He was still watching her through wary eyes and she could tell that he wasn't buying it. "Unless of course you're busy..." She bit her lip nervously and watched as Chuck's eyes softened. His cool exterior seemed to fade but he didn't return her smile. Clearly he was still upset about their last conversation.

"I'm really busy today Blair and I've got meetings for the rest of the afternoon." He glanced at his watch and gave her a tight smile before turning to his secretary who was watching them with curious eyes. As his gaze settled on her she gave him an expectant look waiting for him to address her. "Make an appointment with Jamie…next week should work just fine." He turned back to Blair who was trying to control the anger boiling in her stomach. Appointment? Blair Waldorf had to schedule and appointment to eat lunch with Chuck Bass?

"You're kidding?" She crossed her arms across her chest. She was finished being bright and cheery. She was downright pissed off now. First that little troll Vanessa was making visits to his office and now he was blowing her off? What the hell was going on?

"I thought you said you were done Blair." His done was completely neutral his eyes were narrowed in confusion. He stepped closer to her, his body coming to stand only inches from hers. Blair's stomach fluttered nervously at his proximity and she couldn't help but inhale the musky scent of him. "What are you doing here?" He asked her again but there was something different in his tone. He was frustrated. No…he was mad.

His smoldering eyes were now glaring at her once more and Blair stumbled over her words in an attempt to keep the hurt from betraying how effected she was by his angry glare. "I j-just…. never mind." She gave him her signature smile once more and stepped back. Clearing her throat she pulled her new Marc Jacobs bag further up her shoulder and glanced once more at his secretary who seemed to be amused by Chuck's clear dismissal of her. "Have a good day."

Without another word Blair was walking back down the corridor to the elevators. The whole way she had to keep herself from looking back to see if he was watching her walk away. If she had of course her dark orbs would've been met by his. He couldn't help but continue to stare even after she had disappeared around the corner.

**-o-o-o-**

Letting out a groan Vanessa tugged the dark green dress off her small frame and threw it across her bedroom. It landed softly by her dresser on top of the other dresses she had been tossing over there since leaving Chuck's office that morning. She frowned realizing that she was out of options. There was nothing else in her closet that would be suitable for tonight. She wasn't even sure where they were going but she knew that Chuck Bass never did casual. That boy had been born and stuffed into an Armani suit the moment he emerged. Anything she wore would look plain next to him. Usually Vanessa didn't care but for some reason this was different.

With another grumble she sunk down into her soft mattress and fell back until her head hit her pillow. Her eyes closed and her hands searched for her phone that was lying next to her. Flipping it open she sighed again when she saw that Jenny hadn't answered her text yet. The moment she had left Chuck's office she had immediately messaged her saying that she had a fashion emergency and had yet to hear from her. She wasn't entirely surprised, the girl did have a lot going on.

Getting up from her bed she began to sort through the discarded dresses hoping that she would see something she had failed to see earlier. Maybe the right shoes or accessories could salvage it. After ten minutes of that she realized that between the three dresses she actually owned, none of them were suitable.

Almost as if on cue the doors of her apartment flung open and a very flustered Jenny emerged holding a garment bag and several dresses were draped over her arms. "I'm here…sorry I'm so late." She made her way into Vanessa's room and dropped the dresses on her bed. She surveyed the pile of the discarded dresses with raised eyebrows and let out a short laugh.

"Ah thank you." Vanessa gave her a smile as Jenny began to pull a few dresses out of the garment bag and held them up for Vanessa to look at.

"So what's the occasion?" Her tone was soft as she surveyed Vanessa. It wasn't a secret that Nate and her had ended just recently and Jenny knew that whatever event she needed the dress for wasn't because of him.

Grabbing a blue dress from the pile Vanessa quickly pulled it on. Standing in front of the mirror she surveyed her appearance. The dress was beautiful, it fit her perfectly. It was strapless and it came to just above her knee. The top hugged her chest tightly and it flowed out at the waist to softly cover her thighs. The deep shade brought out the blue in her eyes and her skin seemed to glow against the fabric. "I have a… business dinner."

Jenny frowned just slightly and crossed her arms across her chest. "A business dinner?" As she said the words Vanessa realized how stupid she sounded. Vanessa had never had business dinners; why would she? She was finishing high school at home and worked full-time at the gallery. Who could she possibly be meeting regarding business?

Turning and giving Jenny a sheepish look Vanessa tugged off the blue dress and grabbed a black one from the pile. "You mean a date?" Jenny's voice was full of amusement as Vanessa turned to her, her eyes filled with horror. Pulling the dress over her shoulders she shook her head quickly denying the accusation.

"Absolutely not, trust me. Just business." She rolled her eyes as Jenny nodded. Her eyes sparkled over at Vanessa showing that she still wasn't completely convinced of this but she choose not to push it.

Staring at her reflection Vanessa cocked her head to the side to take in her appearance. It hung loosely off her body but it was slightly shorter than the first and it showed off her lean legs. The fabric gently fell over her shoulders leaving most of her neck and collarbone exposed. Jenny came up behind her and gently pulled against the neckline, pulling it a bit farther down. "I'd go with the blue. He won't know what hit him." She gave her another grin and reached to grab her bag before bidding Vanessa goodbye. "Report back with details." Jenny's voice flowed through the door and Vanessa couldn't help the crimson color that filled her cheeks at the comment.

Tugging the black one down again she went to work trying on the rest of the garments that Jenny had brought her. She felt herself begin to smile knowing that whatever bad blood had been between them was gone. After the snowflake ball things had been awkward for a while but after weeks of uncomfortable encounters at the loft the two had decided to bury the hatchet. Vanessa had after all walked away with the guy, how could she hold a grudge against Jenny after that? She had after all done things she wasn't' exactly proud of in order to claim Nate's affection. Now she was beginning to wonder why she had bothered at all.

Finally Vanessa pulled the last dress off and replaced it with the blue dress she had first tried on. It really was beautiful and as she looked in the mirror she almost didn't recognize the girl looking back. There was happiness glowing behind her eyes that hadn't been there for a while; instead her dark orbs had looked almost dull with sadness. Her hair hung against her shoulders with a few soft curls framing her face. She had added a bit more eyeliner to her eyes and added a bit of dark eye shadow for a smoky look. Finally she felt satisfied with her appearance and she quickly grabbed her silver clutch and slipped on a pair of silver pumps to match. Glancing at the clock she realized that it was seven and with one final glance at her reflection she was out her door and heading out to meet the car awaiting her. "Here goes nothing."


End file.
